The Eternals

It was a cold and windy night as 3 men drove down an isolated country road in an old dark sedan, yet even with the strong winds trying to push through the car windows the night was clear with a full moon lighting the way.

“Man this weather came out of nowhere!” the driver Michael comments as he looks out the window, a slight look of worry on his light skin. He’s of Asian background, average height and build and looks somewhat small for the large old fashioned car.

“Feels kinda weird going being back in the old neighborhood” Another of the men, Danny spoke as he stared out the window, a tired and somewhat bored look on his pale face. He’s a tall white male and the bags under his eyes give the indication that he’s not bored of the situation but of a much deeper meaning. A moment of uneasy silence follows until the third man Jayden, an African American speaks.

“You boys remember the last time we came to this hang out?” a short pause followed by the 3 men shouting in excited chorus ‘crazy Tommy’s party!’ The 3 of them laugh, Jayden’s chubby body jiggling in laughter, a slight sign of what might once have been muscle flexing on his arms as he massages his right shoulder.

“Without that party you never would’ve met Katie” Jayden smirks and Danny’s view returns to the view outside, pressing his head against the window.

“Yeah, and I wouldn’t be going through this divorce.” The laughter and smiles leave their faces, each one returning to their thoughts as if lost for words.

It was Danny’s divorce that had brought these 3 long time friends together. Danny was an accountant with a fairly large home business, but although his work life was doing quite well, he had always felt unsatisfied. Now the loom of divorce had only brought him down further. Jayden had grow up an athlete his entire life but unable to fulfil his dreams, yet still in love with football, he’d become a high school football coach. His right shoulder would hurt from time to time which is why he would sometimes be caught massaging himself. Michael was a high school science teacher for a pretty prestige high school. That was a job that most people would feel proud of but he had always wanted more, and each mundane day was more of a repetitive reminder of the past. They had been friends since before they were teenagers and had remained the best of friends ever since. Now that they were in their late 40’s and since one of them was going through a nasty divorce they had decided to put their busy work schedules aside, reunite and help their friend through a tough time by returning to the neighborhood where they had spent most of their youth.

Returning to reality, they sat in silence at the mention of the obvious reason for their reunion, yet it seemed like there was something else on their minds; almost like it was a forbidden topic. Silence followed for what seemed to be the longest few seconds until Michael broke the awkward moment

“Without that party, Tony would be around.” None of them spoke but it was obvious that what is now a trio of friends was once a group of four.

It was summer of 2000, a hot night on the first vacation of the new millennium. The men were barely past 20 at the time, college students which was obvious by a few scattered text books on the back seat and the loud music playing in their car, followed by the laughs of youthful innocence. Michael and Danny were still slender but there was life and energy in their eyes; a sense of hope. Jayden was clearly athletic; tall, lean and fit. However on this occasion there was a 4th man driving the car, Anthony, or Tony as the group called him; a Hispanic man of average height. His build and facial expressions looked like that of a young man who is both studious yet wild.

“Man that party was a mistake. I shouldn’t have drunk so much.” Danny speaks nauseously from the backseat, trying to be heard over the loud music. Jayden who sat in the front passenger seat put the music down and looked at Danny in disgust.

“Boy are you kidding me? We all had a little too much and why? Because Tommy always has the best parties.”

“Yeah but he’s a little bit crazy” Michael agrees with Danny and Jayden looked at them both, shaking his head mockingly.

“Alright girls tuck in your skirts. Besides, Katie was there.” Jayden and Michael make wolf and kissing noises, playfully mocking Danny until Tony stops them.

“Quiet. Quiet!” Tony shows his authority as the rest of the group turn their attention to him as he watches what seems to be a storm brewing, almost like it was following them.

“Relax bro it’s just a storm” the group began playfully mocking Tony but he seemed lost in his thoughts, his attention glued to the storm so much that he began to take his eyes off the road. He told them that the storm almost looked as if it was only following them to which his friends laughed, pushing him playfully and snapping him back to reality and telling him to watch the road.

The drive continued for a while with the music turning loud again. Jayden, Michael, and Danny returned to their jokes and laughter, acting like regular college students but Tony seemed lost in his thoughts, looking up at the sky every few moments as if waiting for something. He took a deep breath and tried to ignore the storm by joining in on the conversation until a small bolt of lightning flashed in the distance. Suddenly worry took over Tony’s face as he watched the dark clouds forming at rapid speed, this time making it seem like his fears had been real.

“Boys boys! Look!” Jayden turns his attention to the front, still laughing but his laughter stops suddenly when he sees the dark cloud forming above them with small sharp bolts of lightning shooting out of it.

“How much did we drink? Boys he’s not kidding” Michael and Danny notice and the 4 boys become almost frozen in fear at what is brewing above them. All notions of trying to escape, to make a decision, or to simply watch the road seem lost as their focus is purely on the cloud above them. Suddenly a huge flash of lightning shoots out of the cloud and hits right in front of them, shaking the boys awake from their trance.

“Tony watch out!” The boys scream as a power line falls, Tony slamming on the break with as much force as he can. The car skids loudly, twisting to its right until it slams!

The 3 remaining members of this little group are in their late 40’s now as the year is 2026. They drove in silence like decades of memories had just flowed in all in one hit. That accident had changed everything for them. From Jayden’s shoulder injury which led to his failed dreams, to the tragic loss of a friend affecting end of year results for the others. Not to mention the fact that they had left the neighborhood short after and never returned until this day.

“You boys wanna go back to the hangout?” the 3 men look at each other, confused yet a little afraid at Jayden’s suggestion. It had been almost 30 years since the accident and just as long since they had returned to the area of which Jayden spoke of.

“We could pay our respects you know. It’s been a while” Jayden continues looking at both men with slight worry until Michael and Danny look at each other for a few seconds then they nod, Michael turning the car in another direction.

They had grown up near the forests of southern California, a peaceful area where they could ride their bikes, and eventually drive, to the nearby camping areas. The four were of different cultural backgrounds but it hadn’t mattered to them; riding their bikes, playing sports, and camping together had always been a blast to the men. They were of very different personalities with Michael and Danny being very studious, Jayden a well respected athlete, and Tony more of an artistic loner type. However despite their differences they had connected unexpectedly and remained in a brother type friendship from an early age. Even after the accident when they split up and went their separate ways they had remained close. Each one of the remaining 3 had vowed to return to the old neighborhood each year but they never had. The memories of a lost friend had been so great that each year they would find themselves making excuses for not being able to return. Now after over 2 decades they had returned and as they looked out the car window everything seemed different. The streets, malls, even the schools all seemed unfamiliar, like a long lost memory that they had forced out of their minds. None of them spoke much until they came to a narrow road which led deeper into the forests; a place which had once been very familiar to them.

“We’re here” Michael stopped the car and the 3 men stepped out.

They walked a short way to a nice camping area, an open field type of place where they could see the mountains, forests, a sky filled with stars. They continued to walk in silence, hands in pockets from the cold winds and each deep in thought, walking towards the start of a hill which is where they stopped. There lay a pile of large rocks with a fading engraving that bore the name Anthony. For several minutes none of them spoke but just stared at the small memorial which they had made years earlier.

“I’ve been having weird visions lately” Danny broke the silence as the other 2 looked at each other before looking at Danny with a sort of expected confusion. Danny’s stare is focused on the pile of rocks as he continued hesitantly.

“Its just like flashes. Tony, us and” he pauses deep in thought, his gaze frozen on the memorial as Michael and Jayden looked at each other, a little concerned.

“and what?” Jayden pushed and after a few moments Danny looked up at them and shrugged.

“I don’t know. It’s just, I don’t know” Jayden and Michael both sighed.

“Since we’re being honest I’ve been seeing shit too” Jayden takes a deep breath but before he can continue speaking a loud bang sounded over them. The men looked up in shock as they saw a dark cloud forming over them, small sparks of lightning flashing from the cloud.

“No way” the men recognized the cloud and even though the cloud grows at an alarming rate the 3 men seemed frozen in fear and surprise, simply staring up at the cloud until a large bang and a bright light covered the area.

Complete silence as the bright light lingered for what seemed a slow moving few minutes. There was nothing but light at first until eventually the shadows of the men slowly began to come into sight, their hands covering their faces as everything else seemed deadly silent. As the light vanished the dark cloud above began to disintegrate at a rapid rate, the men quivering into a ball like position on the ground. The night returned to normal and the sound of creatures began to surround the forest once again as the men started to wake from their trance. They tried to stand up slowly as if in pain, straining to straighten up. Looking around in confusion they stopped suddenly when they saw each other. Danny suddenly began to breathe deeply as if trying to maintain his composure, looking at his hands when he realized the same thing that his friends had noticed.

“What’s going on?” a voice behind them, the three men turned with mixed reactions

It seemed impossible that what they were looking at could be real! They were no longer disappointed men in their 40’s but instead they were once again in their early 20’s, standing in their old camping grounds near the forests of southern California. Even more shockingly was that the voice behind them, the voice that was as confused as they were, was none other than Anthony; the friend who they had lost almost 30 years earlier! Danny, Michael, and Jayden look at each other confused, their mouths wide open but unable to speak. They nervously scoped the skies, looking for an explanation with Tony just as confused as his friends, almost afraid at their behaviors.

“What’s going on!” Tony demanded an explanation, almost shouting at his friends who looked back at him in shock.

“Tony?” Jayden moved closer to him a little, almost afraid to do so.

“Yeah?” Tony replied confused, his eyes darting from one friend to another, realizing that he was for some reason the center of attention. The now 3 young men looked at each other again, confused and afraid until Danny broke the uncomfortable silence.

“You’re alive!”